High School Sports

Aptos High junior guard Laurel Southall earned All-Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League First Team honors following a strong performance on the court this season. The coaches within the league recognized Southall for helping the Mariners girls’ basketball team to an 8-18 overall record this...

Several local high school basketball boys and girls teams qualified for the upcoming Central Coast Section postseason which officially tips off this weekend. A handful of league champions will have some time off with byes in the first and second rounds, while others will begin...

After spending just one year at the helm, Becky Clark was dismissed from her role as Watsonville High’s athletic director effective at the conclusion of the 2024-25 school year. Clark told The Pajaronian on Tuesday that she received a letter from Pajaro Valley Unified School...

The Central Coast Section softball playoffs begin this weekend for four local qualifiers hoping to go on a section title run to cap off their season. Aptos, Scotts Valley and Watsonville will begin their quest for a championship starting on the road, while San Lorenzo...

The magical season for St. Francis’ girls’ soccer team came to an end following a 5-1 loss to North Monterey County in the Central Coast Section play-in game Tuesday afternoon.  Andrea Ibarra, Anahi Flores, Isa Valadez, Herendira Navoa and Bella Hernandez each scored once for...

WATSONVILLE—The St. Francis High baseball team is in the middle of making a run to the Central Coast Section playoffs and possibly beyond. But the Sharks hit a minor snag along the way after a 6-4 loss to Soledad High in Pacific C oast Athletic...

It’s somewhat true that most schools won’t compete with other teams in a lower division for fear of missing out on Central Coast Section points to earn a playoff berth.  The Pajaro Valley High boys’ soccer team didn’t seem to have that problem this offseason.  In...

Marcus Northcutt has stepped down as Watsonville High’s athletic director after seven years with the school, he told The Pajaronian on Thursday.     Northcutt, 52, will take on the same duties at North Salinas High starting in July. He will replace longtime athletic director Jean Ashen,...

SAN FRANCISCO—Aptos High senior Caden Prichard stood on the sideline Friday night as he watched the seconds tick away in his final season.     With tears rolling down his cheeks, he gave every one of his teammates one last hug after the No. 3-seeded Mariners lost...

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story stated that it had been nearly 40 years since the Aptos High boys' soccer team last won a Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League title, which is incorrect. Aptos last won an SCCAL title during the 2013-14 soccer...